This week, the Zoning Commission hearings for the proposed Georgetown University campus plan will begin. These hearings will be an opportunity for government agencies, the school, community groups, and the public to testify for or against the plan. The first of three hearings will be this Thursday at 6:30 pm at the Zoning Commission’s hearing room at 441 4th St. NW, Suite 220-S.

This first hearing was expected to be dominated by the school’s presentation and the ANC’s. However, due to the school’s recent changes to their proposal, the Office of Planning is delaying the issuance of its report on the plan. As a result, the ANC has requested and been granted a postponement to their scheduled testimony. Now the Office of Planning is expected to file its report on May 5th and to testify on May 12th (at the same time and location as listed above). The ANC will testify afterwards.

As GM has written previously, the Office of Planning’s position on the campus plan will be hugely influential on how the Zoning Commission decides. So while it’s important that the public show up and testify (whether you’re for the plan or against), the real fireworks won’t take place until May 12th. That said, the university will still testify this Thursday, and that should be pretty interesting in its own right.

There will be a third hearing on May 16th (also at the same time and place) and this one will be mostly when the public will get a chance to weigh in.

If you want to testify, email Donna.Hanousek@DC.gov to put your name on the list. It’s first-come-first-serve, so don’t dawdle.